Heels turn to hard-throwing Harvey

North Carolina third baseman Kyle Seager hardly was passing out state secrets when he offered up a scouting report on teammate Matt Harvey.

“He throws really hard,’’ Seager said. “If he’s locating and he’s throwing strikes, he’s one of the toughest pitchers in the country. That’s what makes him so special and why he’s going to be so touted next year.’’

The Tar Heels will turn to Harvey tonight in an attempt to extend their stay at the College World Series in a rematch of an opening-round game against Arizona State. The Sun Devils won Sunday, scoring four runs in the 10th inning to pull out a 5-2 victory, but dropped into the elimination game by losing Tuesday to Texas.

North Carolina bounced back from the first-round loss with Tuesday’s 11-4 victory that knocked out Southern Mississippi. That put the Tar Heels in the win-or-go-home game tonight at 6 against the Sun Devils.

Harvey, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound right-hander, will be pitching for the first time since May 29, when he beat Dartmouth in the opening game of the regional tournament. With Harvey obviously well-rested, North Carolina coach Mike Fox’s main concern will be how his sophomore handles the big-game atmosphere.

“He hasn’t faced a live hitter in a game for awhile so he’s going to have a lot of adrenaline,’’ Fox said. “He’s going to be anxious, so it’s going to be about him throwing strikes right out of the gate. Once you go through that first inning or two and your heart rate goes down, then I think it might get a little easier.

“But how he starts the game is going to be very important.’’

Harvey’s start tonight will be his 13th in 21 appearances this season. He’s 7-2 with a 5.35 ERA, and his recent rest has alleviated any concerns over a dead-arm period that seemed to hinder him at midseason.

“I hit 98 (mph) in an intrasquad game the other day,’’ Harvey said. “I was throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s early in the year. I started going down a little at about the middle of the year, but recently, I started seeing that go back up.’’

In Harvey, North Carolina has a CWS veteran to bank on in a must-win scenario. He started two games in Omaha last season as a freshman, with the first lasting just two innings against Louisiana State before rain forced a delay.

The Tar Heels won that elimination game, and Harvey came back the next night to pitch the first five innings of the bracket championship game against Fresno State. He gave up three runs, but the Tar Heels came back to win 4-3, forcing a second championship game the next night that Fresno State won.

“This is kind of a déjà vu kind of thing,’’ Harvey said. “Last year I pitched in elimination games, and that’s the same thing this year. I feel I’m ready. My arm feels better than it has all year.

“I didn’t throw for two weeks before coming out here last year, and I felt like I had good stuff when I pitched here. I think the rest has helped me.’’

Arizona State’s pitching situation doesn’t appear as well set as North Carolina’s. Sun Devils coach Pat Murphy said after the loss to Texas that he was uncertain who would start tonight’s game, although it appears that he might be leaning toward sophomore right-hander Seth Blair.

The last of Blair’s 13 starts this season came May 31 in the regional against Oral Roberts. He made his fourth relief appearance of the season against Texas, throwing 10 pitches while facing three batters in the eighth inning. One walked and the other two got hits as he gave up Arizona State’s final two runs.

Overall, Blair is 7-2 with a 3.39 ERA.

Although he used five pitchers against Texas, Murphy is confident that his staff is capable of meeting the challenge of possibly having to play three straight days. Tonight’s winner advances to the bracket championship game against Texas on Friday, and a victory in that game would necessitate a second title game on Saturday.

“At this time of the year, every one of our guys can pitch,’’ Murphy said. “This time of the year, you take a day off and then pitch some. In my mind, we have plenty of pitching.

“It might be we’re not as fresh as a daisy, but we have guys available that can pitch.’’

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com